And moments after coming on Perez found himself unmarked and six yards from goal only to head high and wide.

Lascelles outjumped Miguel Britos to head home Jonjo Shelvey’s corner on 71 minutes.

Perez then fired over as Newcastle pressed for an equaliser before Elliot again denied Ighalo after he had twisted his way through the Newcastle defence.

McClaren said: “We started the game so well and looked in control.

“The two goals really killed us. It’s disappointing – we fought and came back. We threw everything at them – it wasn’t our day.

“We talked about focus and the first ten minutes after the break being important.

“The second goal was from an aimless cross into the box. We then had a mountain to climb.

“Apart from the two goals, the performance was terrific. We’ve got to get it right at both ends. We’ve had a tough Christmas. The last few results we’ve been growing and getting better. We lick our wounds and go again.”